Guest Opinion: Protect our native prairies

By John Crabtree, Prairie and native grasslands are disappearing rapidly, taking soil and habitat as well as hunting, ranching and other economic opportunities with them. Congress should ensure that federal farm and crop insurance subsidies don’t exacerbate the loss of these vital natural resources. Fortunat...

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Granite Falls Advocate Tribune

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Posted Feb. 20, 2013 at 5:06 PM
Updated Feb 20, 2013 at 5:09 PM

Posted Feb. 20, 2013 at 5:06 PM
Updated Feb 20, 2013 at 5:09 PM

By John Crabtree,

Prairie and native grasslands are disappearing rapidly, taking soil and habitat as well as hunting, ranching and other economic opportunities with them. Congress should ensure that federal farm and crop insurance subsidies don’t exacerbate the loss of these vital natural resources.

Fortunately, Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD), Tim Walz (D-MN) and six bipartisan co-sponsors, including House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN), recently introduced legislation that creates a nationwide “sodsaver” law that would slash subsidies that contribute to the destruction of native grassland and prairie.

The Protect Our Prairies Act would prohibit federal payments and reduce crop insurance premium subsidies by fifty percent on newly broken native sod. The Act also closes loopholes by requiring that newly broken sod be isolated from other crop acres when calculating insurable yields. And operators would be required to take a percentage of the county average yield for any newly broken native sod until they are able to show a multi-year yield history. These two provisions are crucial to removing the federally subsidized incentive to bust up native grassland.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Protect Our Prairies will save nearly $200 million over the next ten years, tax dollars that will otherwise be spent to destroy remaining prairies and grasslands. Senator John Thune (R-SD) secured the same provision in the Senate Farm Bill last year, and it is expected to remain in the Senate bill this year. If your Representative is a co-sponsor, thank them, if not, call them and urge them to sign up.

John Crabtree works at the Center for Rural Affairs. He can be reached at: johnc@cfra.org